European researchers found many smartphone users have developed what they call 'checking habits,' or repetitive checks of email and other applications like Facebook.
On average, the subjects of the study checked their phones 34 times a day.
Experts say every time a person gets an email, it's positive feedback that the person is important. Once a person's brain becomes accustom to the feedback, reaching for the phone becomes an automatic habit.
For people who want to kick the habit, the scientists recommend acknowleding the existence of a problem, setting 'smartphone-free times' and having smartphone-free places as well.
